May 20 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Ukraine had been in contact with Britain on Wednesday, having sent signals on the “sensitive” issue of sanctions on Russia, with hopes to discuss the issue further this week.
“This issue is always very sensitive… We conveyed our signals on the matter to London,” he said in his nightly video address. “We expect that everything will be discussed this week on a bilateral level.”
Zelenskiy did not refer directly to Britain’s decision to continue to allow imports of diesel and jet fuel refined from Russian crude in third countries, but said sanctions from its allies were the most effective means of influencing Russia.
Zelenskiy later said on X that he had spoken to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer by telephone and thanked him for the support provided for Ukraine. He said the two sides were coordinating diplomatic positions and “working to reinvigorate substantive diplomacy”.
Starmer’s office said the prime minister reaffirmed Britain’s support for Ukraine. Both leaders reiterated the need to maintain pressure on Russia and welcomed the strength of the UK-Ukraine relationship.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; editing by David Gaffen)
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